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Step daughter in control? Super long!

therebelrulz's picture

I don't normally post personal things but I'm at a loss! I've been with my (common-law) husband for almost 5 years now, we have a 2.5 year old boy together & he has a 12 year old daughter.

Little backstory, We've never had a "normal relationship". Within 2 months of us starting to date, CPS was involved due to my SD's BM (SD was 7 at the time) being a drug addict, she lost full custody of SD to my husband, so we went from seeing each other constantly to only seeing each other on the weekend & SD was always around. I'm not complaining, I loved spending time with both of them, but it made having time for "us" hard & made getting to know each other on a personal level hard as well. I ended up moving in with them after 6 months of dating. Everything was good until BM went away to rehab that winter. My husband & I made the choice to take in BMs old kids from a different relationship so they wouldn't go to foster care! Now we had no time to ourselves with 2 teenagers who didn't respect a word we said! They stayed with us a few months then left when BM came home. We never told his daughter the reason her BM left, we told her she was sick & was getting help....

Now this is where things get tricky, I started seeing the big picture, he always puts his daughter on a pedestal! She is perfect in his eyes & never does anything wrong...BUT she treats him like garbage, she's always rude to him & doesn't care about anyone's feelings. He justifies this behavior due to her going through all the crap with her mom (as I said we shielded her from the truth). A month after her sisters moved out I got pregnant with our son. She was happy at first, she wanted a sibling. Then we found out it was a boy, my husband's stepdad was so excited (he only had 3 granddaughters but no grandsons), in came the jealousy! I wasn't allowed to mention ANYTHING about my pregnancy because it would upset her, I wasn't allowed to be excited! I recorded his heartbeat at one of my obgyn appointments for my husband because he had to work & he wouldn't listen to it because it made her upset! My in-laws bought me a 3D ultrasound appointment & she came to it & his her face the whole time & started crying because nobody was paying attention to her! (She's 8 at this point!) Every name I picked out that I liked, she hated it! I purposely didn't have a baby shower because I didn't want the drama!

 Fast forward to now, she basically runs everything, I'm not allowed to pick his clothes, I'm not allowed to choose what I do with him, she controls it all. I told him the other day that if he ate his dinner then he could have dessert, she tells me he's already had a lot of chocolate & chips earlier (I was at work) so I said ok I won't give him any. She comes in the bathroom & tells him when he's done in the tub he can have some chocolate! I was pissed! Then she starts ripping into me about the fact that he's mad I'm washing his hair (he hates it & screams every time). My husband comes in & gets mad at me because I'm upset that she's telling me how to raise my son! I'm his mother...she's his sister! She always tries to discipline him, telling him if he doesn't do what she wants then he's going on time out, or his not getting something he wants. She guilts him into doing things for her! He's an emotional child & she will fake cry when he doesn't do what she want. She antagonizes him until he retaliates then complains to her father & he punishes him & not her. It's gotten to the point where our son doesn't even like her coming over & tells me he doesn't want to spend time with her!

She also has him so wrapped around her finger to the point he gives her everything she wants regardless of what it is, she wanted a new pair of shoes last year even though she had 3 perfect pair, she wanted vans, I told him we didn't have the money & she was fine with the pairs she had, I went to work & he took her to get them behind my back & she ruined them in 2 weeks so he bought her another pair! Then she wanted new adidas because her friend has them, another $100 on shoes. Her mom bought her new shoes at the start of the school year then she "needed" filas so my husband went & got her those which are $100! We are just getting by right now, I was out of work & he is still out of work but he drops everything the second she sheds a tear! He got her a cellphone & she hated it because it wasn't an iphone! So he told he he would get her an iphone 8, she screamed & cried until he got her a 10 instead. (She's 12 now)

I swear any time she doesn't get her way she tells us it's because we "hate her & only care about the baby!" But he always puts her before him. She has gone back to 50/50 with her mom since her mom came back from rehab & he won't do ANYTHING without her, we're not allowhere with our son unless she's there, we aren't allowed to eat anything she likes unless she's there, we have chicken nuggets or hot dogs on the nights she's with her mom (3-4 days a week!)

She has no responsibilities at all at the house, she has no chores, doesn't have to clean up after herself, or anything! He yells (yes actually yells) at me if I don't make her lunch or pick up after her! He calls me lazy & fat (among other verbally abusive terms!) when I tell him she needs to do things for herself, he tells me she's a child & it's our responsibility. I spent over an hour one day organizing & putting away her clothes, she comes in the next day & rips them all out of her dresser! When she gets home she kicks her shoes off in the middle of the hall, throws her coat on the ground & goes & plays on her phone & computer!

As I said I'm at a loss! I don't blame her for her attitude, I blame her bio parents as they are the ones who won't correct it or do anything about it! I want to take my son & just leave but his dad told me if I leave with him again (I left last year) he's going to call the police & say I kidnapped him & make sure I never see him again...I don't know what to do. It's at the point where his own mom & sister want me to leave....

If you made it this far, thank you for reading it & any advice would be appreciated!

Totheend12345's picture

I am sorry this will only get worse. And the 1st time DH said anything like that I would of packed up and left. No one should talk to you like that. And SD sounds like she is out of control.

 

Change the Wifi password, Hide the Snacks, and her clothes are on the floor she can earn them back.  

NoWireCoatHangarsEVER's picture

I would say get a job first chance you get and get out of there with your son.

therebelrulz's picture

I do have a good paying job, but we can't make ends meet because he spends everything on her, then gets mad when I buy our son a hot wheels car from the dollar store

ESMOD's picture

That's great.. then get out.. get child support which will be an obligation that will need to be paid before he 100 dollars himself to death chasing his daughter's love.

Zero way I would stay with a man that called me lazy.. fat.... that made me eat toddler food when his precious daughter wasn't there.

There is no mistake.. you do not have a stepdaughter issue as much as you have a father who didn't raise his daughter well.. and isn't a good partner to you.. and a mediocre father toyour son.

advice.only2's picture

Your DH is in an emotionally incestous relationship with his daughter, she is his mini wife. You are just there to sleep in the bed with him.

Don't allow your DH to manipulate you into staying out of fear, contact a lawyer, contact a woman's shelter, contact any local groups in your area the could help. Arm yourself with knowledge, it will make leaving him less scary.

therebelrulz's picture

I live in a small community, everyone in my local group knows him because he grew up here. He even knows where the women's shelter is here.

Indigo's picture

I know small towns. I know super small towns with family in the founding infastructure. There are always surrounding towns. 

Safe houses in one town have clear paths to move folk out of harms way.

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Your husband is a YUGE part of the problem. Does he thinks it's normal for a child to be in charge of raising another child? Gads.

You have a much bigger problem than SD.

Time to plan your exit. ASAP.

 

ndc's picture

What is all this "allowed" stuff?  You're not allowed to be excited?  You're not allowed to choose your own son's clothing?  You're not allowed to do anything with your son unless she's there?  You are a grown adult.  You are ALLOWED to do these things.  You are allowing your SO and his daughter to control what you do, and this is not necessary.  Are you really common law, or can you walk away without a divorce?  Why do you stay in this miserable situation?

therebelrulz's picture

He lets his daughter run everything, I have to take a backseat to everything when it comes to her. If I pick my son's outfit, she throws a fit & he gets pissed at me, he would freak out on me when I was pregnant if I got excited because it upset her! I should have left then but I stupidly stayed thinking when the baby came things would change...it only got worse. I left last year but he convinced me to come home because he was seeking help, going to the doctor, anger management, counselling...but that didn't last long & he told me if I ever left again he is going to press charges for kidnapping & make sure I never see my son again...

We are common-law, we never legally got married so no divorce is necessary, just custody of our son....

Aniki-Moderator's picture

...he convinced me to come home because he was seeking help, going to the doctor, anger management, counselling...but that didn't last long...

Of course it did not last. This is a typical abuser - improved behavior until their target is back under control. 

Find a womens' shelter IN ANOTHER TOWN

CLove's picture

ASAP.

Get a job, get your finances in order and leave. Document as much as you can, or journalise. You need to start a life without this loser and his toxic spawn. File for full custody.

therebelrulz's picture

I have a good paying job, our money issue is that he spends all of it on his daughter but gets pissed because I buy our son a hot wheels car at the dollar store!

Focused_onourlife's picture

Keep YOUR money from him and leave. You have the upper hand here, you know? Take control of you and your son and leave them.

Winterglow's picture

Leave. What's he going to do about it? Take back your power. Separate your finances. You're not working to finance his whims. You're not married, you have every right to leave with your child. Find yourself a place to live with your child. You don't have to live like this. 

tog redux's picture

Yikes, this sounds like hell on Earth.  Start putting putting some of your money away, even if it's just a small amount, in a separate account and save up. Borrow from friends and family if needed - but get out of there. This guy is abusive.

He's not going to get full custody of your son, don't worry about that. But if I'm not mistaken, in Canada, with a common-law marriage, you have the same protections as legal marriage, so you will need to discuss dividing assets, etc, with an attorney, not only custody.

ETA: If you separate and there is no official custody, then it's not kidnapping to take your son. Just be sure he doesn't get wind of you leaving because he also has an equal right to take off with your son and might do so.

Exjuliemccoy's picture

You don't have a skid problem, you have a partner problem. Your SD is the way she is because of the way your SO is. Both he and BM sound quite trashy.

You need to face the truth: you are in an abusive relationship. You are being abused and financially exploited by this man. It will only get worse, and there is no salvaging this. You need to save yourself and your child, but in order to do that you need to know what your rights are so you can create an escape plan.

Please talk to an attorney, talk to some women's shelters, and plan your exit. Once you are away from the situation, you will be amazed at how much better you feel and wonder why you didn't leave sooner. I know this because there are members here who've been where you are, and we're all here for you. (((hugs)))

lieutenant_dad's picture

So you're not married? Is he on the birth certificate for your son? Your SO doesn't have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to getting custody and claiming you're kidnapping. In fact, if you leave, until there is a CO, neither of you are kidnapping (so long as one of you isn't just up and leaving the state/country without giving info on where you're going).

You're not in a hopeless situation. In fact, it should be more than easy for you to get 50/50 custody. Hell, it sounds like his ex has some custody WITH a drug use history.  He and his dad are trying to scare you into staying, and I'd bet your SO learned this crappy behavior from the very man who is telling you that he'll help his son win full custody.

Talk to an attorney. Start putting money away into an account. Say you got a pay cut at work due to COVID and shove some cash into another account. Get a loan if you have to. Contact a domestic violence shelter and see what resources they have. You CAN get out of this and NOT lose your son.

tog redux's picture

Canada has common-law marriage, which has many of the same legal protections.

lieutenant_dad's picture

The US has/had common law, too, but I've frequently heard it used in place of saying boyfriend/girlfriend. I had assumed it was similar since five years didn't seem long enough to be common law.

therebelrulz's picture

Yes he is on the birth certificate

When I said his dad, I meant my son's father, not my father in law. My father-in-law doesn't know about the situation, he only knows what my husband tells him. (His mother & sister on the other hand know a lot more & want me to leave, even helped me the last time I left). 

 

As for my SD's BM, he was told not to give her custody back, he chose to because according to him he didn't want to keep his daughter from her. It would "kill her"...yet she told my sister-in-law before getting pregnant she didn't want to have a baby with him...& She spent 6 years of my SD's life drugged up...

lieutenant_dad's picture

Sorry that I misunderstood.

Who told him not to allow SD to go back? The courts? If it was the courts, and he sent her back anyway, that will be VERY useful for you in court when making a custody agreement. It shows that he DOESN'T actually want custody of his kids, even when it's in their best interest to not see their other parent.

Any way you slice it, you're not likely to lose all custody of you child, for a multitude of reasons. Him using threats of taking your child away from you is abuse, and will not be looked fondly on by the courts (especially if you can get him to make that threat in writing).

therebelrulz's picture

CPS said that SD was to remain in his custody until they deemed BM capable of taking care of her, he started letting her stay the night within a few weeks of the ruling & she was already back with her mom 50/50 before she even entered rehab! She was actually with her mom when her mom collapsed from a seizure (due to drugs) & was rushed to the hospital (she was 8 at this time). Her mom entered rehab 2 months later.

lieutenant_dad's picture

Talk to an attorney and provide as much detail about that as possible. You sound like you're in a MUCH better place than he wants you to believe.

advice.only2's picture

It doesn't matter if he knows where the women's shelter is, I live in a small town and we all know where the women's shelter is, yet there are women who leave their abusive husbands everyday and go there to get the help they need. It sounds like he has progressively chipped away at your confidence so that you will believe whatever macho BS he makes up. Call a lawyer, talk to somebody, but take your power back, at least for your sons sake...do you want him to grow up to be just like his dad?

NoWireCoatHangarsEVER's picture

She is some kind of therapist or pyschiatrist.  Her channel is called LIVE ABUSE FREE.  She talks so much about narcissits and how they control you and gas light and triangulation and how they get their narcissitic supply.  Your husband and his actions hit all those red flags.  You are in an abusive relationship that you have to get out of for your self and for your child's sake.   

TwoOfUs's picture

Why are you negotiating with a child? All kids try to boss around and parent their younger siblings...but not all parents allow it. My dear sweet niece (a year younger than your SD) will try to "parent" her little brother and my sister calmly shuts it down with: "Ive got this" or "He already has a mom."

Nip that in the bud. Dont ever let her tell you what or when your son can eat or what he wears again. That's insane.

Of course, the bigger problem is your DH. She probably thinks it's ok to boss you around because she watches him do it.

Take your money and get out of there. I'm serious. No way I'd be funding the abuse on top of everything else. But what will he do??!! Not your problem. He'll probably find someone else to abuse...it's unfortunate...but also not your problem. 

therebelrulz's picture

I do tell her not to parent him, I tell her I'm dealing with it & she comes back with some snarky remark about how I'm not doing a good job of he's still acting a certain way...he's 2 of course he's going to try to test his boundaries. But as soon as I say anything back, I'm the bad guy! It always comes back on me...he will come up with some excuse to warrant the way she's acting! I have told her she is not his mom! I actually got so pissed when she was telling everyone that he was "her" baby & I just carried him for 9 months! My husband thought it was "cute"

nappisan's picture

wow this is insane !!!!  get out now !!!  He cant do anything if you leave with your son,, you are the mother and there is no indication that you would be kidnapping your own son without any court docs in place,,, your partner is an idiot.  start documenting things he says to you that are abusive and go from there .  just start preparing to leave 

The_Upgrade's picture

Threatening that you will never see your son if you leave is ABUSE. Start the convo one day when he's at work and see if he's dumb enough to reiterate that to you over a series of text messages. Family law is behind on certain areas and while in my DH's case it screwed him over, here I think it will work to your advantage.

The courts always favour the mother. Even abusive drug addled mothers get access to their kids if not custody over healthy, stable fathers. As an example - I reckon there was some PND at play here but my friend's wife was convinced he was cheating on her so one day when he was at work she cleaned out their joint savings and disappeared with their toddler. Police wouldn't tell him where his son was, only told him they've managed to make contact and he was safe. She made up a series of false assault allegations that were all thrown out in court. Gave him PTSD for having to defend himself against rape allegations. Essentially kidnapped their son and yet he had to jump through all these hoops to even see his child again. It took over a year before he could work up to weekend visits and three years until he could have his son overnight. We used to refer to her as "your crazy wife" back when they were married but it became less funny when she turned out to be actually crazy.

Do you have family you can impose on for a short amount of time before you find your feet? As embarrassing as it is to let them know your situation, do it for your son if not for yourself. Doesn't sound like this situation will get any better and it'll screw up any kid to grow up second best in this dysfunction. 

WickedStepmother_'s picture

That child needs therapy and you need out. This doesn't sound like a healthy relationship for anyone involved. 

Thefatherismyfamily's picture

Move out. Continue dating the father if you aren't able to break it off, but absolutely do not,  under any circumstances,  ever see SD again. I have an SD who was a wreck likes yours and I managed to cut her out of my life for the most part. She's 16 now and her behaviors started at age 11-12. Life is so much more peaceful now. Moving out doesn't equate to kidnapping your son. Your sons father is just trying to intimidate you with false information. Don't fall for it.

DPW's picture

Bonjour. Be careful about common law relationships in Quebec, they are more serious in law and those in them have more rights than in other provinces, or at least used to be. Meaning, see a lawyer ASAP. I would also open another bank account, in a bank you do not deal with, and have my pay redirected there. Then I would pack my important things, find a shelter in another city and run. F*ck your SO. He's an abuser. You are stronger than this. You do not want your son exposed to a man like this. 

Wicked stepmo.'s picture

Make a plan, start putting money away find a place to go. There is no custody arrangement. The police will not get involved. Even if Thier were a custody arrangement unless it specifically states that if OP denies access to the child then the police can intervene. They will not get involve, everything would have to be handled in Family court.